Their hope of transporting the former Demon Emperor out of the dungeons was fleeting. He’d been imprisoned for so long, it was hard to say whether he’d cooperate.
Besides, the Xue Yang currently stationed in the Sea of Innocence was just an avatar.
Although this was near the ocean, there was no guarantee he could overpower the former Demon Emperor, an expert who’d once shaken the Upper Three Realms!
But they might very well be able to move Venerate Spirit Treasure. With Big Sister Xiang to help, it was possible he’d cooperate.
Ye Zichen thought it over. Pu Jingwan watched and laughed. Her expression seemed to say…
See how smart I am? Hurry up and praise me!
Ye Zichen had no time to waste on this money grubber. Moving Venerate Spirit Treasure out of the dungeons was a last resort. It would never have come to this if Pu Jingwan hadn’t spilled the beans in the group chat.
The other great emperors were grilling Ocean Emperor Xue Yang; he was in dire straits. The moment he posted his explanation, it was buried in a sea of messages. Quite a few great emperors had already announced their intentions to rush to the Sea of Innocence. They had to see Venerate Spirit Treasure for themselves before they’d let this go.
“Ocean Emperor.” Ye Zichen was keenly aware that he was the source of all this trouble, so when he looked at Xue Yang, his gaze was deeply apologetic. “What’s done is done, and the great emperors are already on their way. There’s no way we can let them into the dungeons, so how about we just release Venerate Spirit Treasure?”
“That’s absolutely not possible!” The Ocean Emperor immediately rejected the idea.
Don’t be fooled; although he seemed calm, even gentle when dealing with Venerate Spirit Treasure, that didn’t in any way imply that he’d forgiven the toad’s transgressions.
The Ocean God’s three divine artifacts were a set. They complemented each other.
Venerate Spirit Treasure had eaten the Ocean God’s Ring, so the Ocean God’s treasures were now incomplete. This had reduced the Ocean Emperor’s combat strength by over thirty percent
After such a sin, sparing Venerate Spirit Treasure was kind enough already. Letting him go…?
Don’t even think about it!
“Why are you so inflexible?” In the face of the Ocean Emperor’s staunch refusal, Pu Jingwan pursed her lips. “Like it or not, those great emperors are on their way here. Which is more important, your grudge against Venerate Spirit Treasure, or your Xue Family’s reputation and its clansmen’s safety?”
Pu Jingwan seemed to be lecturing him, as if she’d completely forgotten that her greed was the reason they were in this predicament in the first place!
“This is your…”
“Never mind that! I advise you to discuss this with your true body. Don’t mark arbitrary decisions all on your own.” Pu Jingwan shrugged.
When Ye Zichen heard that, he glared at her. Still, at the end of the day, this had happened because of him.
Yes, Pu Jingwan was the one to leak the info in the group chat, but…. Pu Jingwan and Yang Jian were his people. He couldn’t escape responsibility for this.
After signaling for Pu Jingwan to stop talking, Ye Zichen thought for a moment, then said hesitantly, “Ocean Emperor, I know all of this is because of me, but Jingwan’s words aren’t without reason. How about you and your true body talk it over? We don’t have much time left. Some of the group chat’s great emperors are already on their way over.”
“I…. Fine, then!” The Ocean Emperor’s avatar sighed. He’d already made contact with his true body.
Ye Zichen glanced at Pu Jingwan. He couldn’t help but shake his head. Although he figured that, with Big Sister Xiang around, Venerate Spirit Treasure wouldn’t play any tricks, it was hard to say considering how high the toad’s cultivation was. Just how thoroughly could she intimidate him?
He was also worried about Pu Jingwan’s money grubbing tendencies. Perhaps her days as a bounty hunter in the Outside had given her heightened senses and interest in money. Either way, even if they handled the matter of Venerate Spirit Treasure without lasting consequences, going forward….
Who was to say that Pu Jingwan’s greed wouldn’t cause even greater disasters?
“Hey, don’t look at me like that, okay? I’ll be more careful next time.” Pu Jingwan sensed Ye Zichen’s gaze, then pouted and pursed her lips. Then, she looked around. “Why isn’t the monkey here? Didn’t he say he was going to wait for us outside?”
Everything had happened so fast that Ye Zichen didn’t notice the Great Sage’s absence until Pu Jingwan pointed it out.
Indeed, the Great Sage told them he’d wait for them outside the dungeons, but by the time they left, there was no sign of him.
“I wanted to ask the moment we left.” Yang Jian shrugged. “I sent the monkey a message just now, but he hasn’t responded. He even said that, if anything happened, he’d rush inside right away. How unreliable!”
“The Great Sage might have run into trouble!” Ye Zichen wasn’t worried about the Great Sage’s safety; he was an imperial-lord level expert. That was enough to laugh in the face of the Upper Three Realms. No, what worried Ye Zichen was that something had happened so urgent that the Great Sage had to run off on such short notice, he couldn’t even leave a message first.
Just as they were wondering about where the Great Sage had wandered off too, the Ocean Emperor’s avatar walked over and said in a low voice, “My true body agreed!”
….
The Sea of Innocence.
The meeting hall was bursting with fury so intense, the skies over the Sea of Innocence were grey and overcast.
It had been less than half a month since news of Venerate Spirit Treasure’s captivity leaked. Without any prior discussion or agreement, all of the chat group’s great emperors set aside what they were working on and rushed over to the Xue Family Estate.
Even the Hermit Emperor had rushed here from the Hermits’ Palace. But actually, he had no particular grudge with Venerate Spirit Treasure.
He was just here to watch the show.
Really! When Ye Zichen saw the Hermit Emperor arrive, those were the old man’s exact words.
“Xue Yang, you’ve sure got skill! To think you’ve been hiding Venerate Spirit Treasure for ten thousand years without word getting out. Not even the Jade Pool Palace Master knew. You…” Great Emperor Bi’an leaned into his chair glaring at the avatar and gnashing his teeth. He forcefully shook his head. “Forget it. You’re nothing but an avatar; I’ve got better things to do than take you to task. But if your true body were here, I’d force him to give me an explanation, even if this is his home turf!”
The hall currently seated Great Emperors Bi’an and Chao Feng, the Fox Empress Su Qingyan, and the Jade Pool Palace Master.
Everyone here was overcome with fury, but Great Emperor Bi’an was the angriest of all. That was because, of all the great emperors present, he’d suffered the most at Venerate Spirit Treasure’s hands!
Dragons loved treasure!
As the seventh son of the Dragon God, despite having settled in god race territory, Bi’an still had a dragon’s innate characteristics.
For instance, from a young age, he’d loved collecting all sorts of curiosities, as well as divine weapons.
Great Emperor Chao Feng, naturally, had his collections too, but he lived in the Star Altar.
That made it rather difficult for Venerate Spirit Treasure to break in!
As such, Venerate Spirit Treasure set his sights on Great Emperor Bi’an. He’d targeted him and the Four Directions Palace at least a hundred times. A significant portion of his stash of ranked divine artifacts once belonged to Bi’an.
“Enough, Ol’ Seven. Venerate Spirit Treasure will be here momentarily.” Great Emperor Chao Feng was relatively steady, but his eyes were blazing with undisguised fury too.
“Why isn’t he here yet?” The Jade Pool Palace Master furrowed her brows.
“Emperor Star Ye has already gone to invite him up, so it shouldn’t be much longer…”
“Invite? Is he worthy of an invitation? If he dares show up, just wait and see. I’ll make him bleed!”
“Who? Who dares be so arrogant as to demand my blood? I’m standing right here, aren’t I? Come on and try it!” Suddenly, a grinning man in green stepped through the doorway.
